In the Greek era, one of the most culturally rich buildings that was erected in this time was the Parthenon. The Parthenon took the place of an older religious temple that was burned down by Persian forces in 480 B.C. The Greek leader Pericles ordered it to be built upon the older structure. The newer building was constructed in masculine Doric style with a touch of Ionic order. Doric and Ionic order are two of the three classical Greek architectural styles. This makes the building the iconic image of ancient Greece. The Parthenon was also a religious monument dedicated to the goddess Athena. She was the goddess of wisdom, courage, and warfare among other things. People would go inside and pray to Athena, feeling more connected to the heavens while inside of the structure. When the Parthenon was built, all of the citizens of Athens felt the distinctions between themselves and the Gods fading, as the the structural perfection matched the quality of that of a higher power. This effect was achieved through the use of the golden ratio throughout the building, most notably in the facade. The golden ratio - which is approximately 1.6 to 1 - was thought to be the most aesthetically pleasing dimensions that a building could have. The fact that such an incredible feat of architecture was devoted solely to their Gods demonstrates the respect that they had for their religion. No buildings of the same caliber were constructed to honor the sciences, which reveals the Greek’s emphasis on religion. The Parthenon represents Greek culture at its finest and is still looked upon as a structural landmark today.
We agree about the continuing cultural and architectural significance of the Parthenon. It's one of the most enduring and recognizable symbols of ancient Greece. The information about the golden ratio was new to us, and quite interesting.
ReplyDeleteTeam 9's analysis on the staggering building, Parthenon, was really in depth. In this posts, we can tell that the Parthenon underscores the importance of ancient Greek architecture and the God Athena.
ReplyDeleteWe can see that you have introduced the two of three classical Greek architectural styles in this post, which lead us thinking, what makes these architectural styles different? We think that the Doric and Ionic order should have been explained more thoroughly.
Although the building, Parthenon, was explained very well, this post did not show to much on how it interacted with science and aesthetics of the society. Reading this posts told us that the Greek architect's had an amazing taste on art and had great knowledge in art. Science was also definitely used in the process of making this structural landmark.
Overall, we got a great understanding of this building and why it was built. Great post!!
-Raymond, Lee, Kevin, Alex, Bryce